The Encounter of an Elderly Man and a Young Woman in Julia Margaret Cameron’s Photography : Friar Laurence and Juliet (1865), Prospero and Miranda (1865), and Vivien and Merlin (1874)

Linszky, Franciska (2025) The Encounter of an Elderly Man and a Young Woman in Julia Margaret Cameron’s Photography : Friar Laurence and Juliet (1865), Prospero and Miranda (1865), and Vivien and Merlin (1874). EGER JOURNAL OF ENGLISH STUDIES (25). pp. 23-39. ISSN 1786-5638 (print); 2060-9159 (online)

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Abstract

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) is one of the most renowned Victorian photographers, whose innovative oeuvre attests to her penchant for beauty. Not only does her legacy comprise portraits of eminent contemporaries, but she also ventured to create her own staged photographs inspired by literature. Friar Laurence and Juliet (1865), Prospero and Miranda (1865), and Vivien and Merlin (1874) bear a striking resemblance to one another and depict a similar leitmotif: the relationship of an elderly man and a young woman. The present paper explores the connection between the male and female characters by interpreting the photographs’ visual language and unveiling the underlying significance of the characters’ touches and power relations: it examines the femininity of Juliet, Miranda and Vivien in the Victorian social context to demonstrate how they embody the cultural stereotypes of the angel in the house and the fallen woman

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